Please Help Me, Amanda
by karianaelle
Summary: Elle Rollins, Amanda's twenty-one year old sister, returns from college in desperate need of help. Can Amanda, Olivia, and the SVU team help her before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

It was a beautiful autumn day in New York City, but for Elle Rollins, things were not so beautiful.

At around 10 AM, Elle was in her dorm room at NYU, frantically throwing as many belongings into a suitcase as she could fit. She needed to get out and she needed to get out fast.

Elle didn't have much family. She had a crazy mother, whom which she hadn't talked to in ages, no father figure, no extended family that was either alive or stable, but she did have a big sister, Amanda, who also lived in New York City and worked for the Special Victims Unit.

Elle and Amanda were extremely close. Amanda had been like a mother figure to her for her entire life, considering the fact that she was about twenty years older than her twenty-one year old sister. Now that they both were living in NYC, they got together as often as they could, but due to Amanda's heavy workload and Elle's crazy courseload, the past semester, they hadn't seen each other or talked as much as they used to. Still, Elle knew where she needed to go to feel safe.

Amanda cared for Elle as if she was her own daughter. She taught Elle to be strong and to be smart, which often led Elle to believing that she had to hide her struggles from Amanda, for fear of disappointing her. What happened last week at NYU was no exception.

Elle grabbed her suitcase and her backpack and headed down to the precinct that Amanda worked at, knowing very well that she would be at work.

The entire subway ride, Elle was building herself up to try and act as normal as she could, so Amanda wouldn't notice that something was wrong. She didn't want to tell Amanda what was going on, but she knew that she had nowhere else to go.

Elle arrived at the precinct and walked in as cool, calm and collected as she could. Before she could find Amanda, she ran into Olivia Benson.

"Elle?" Olivia said in shock, as she embraced Elle with a hug.

"Hey Olivia," Elle said with a small smile, "Do you know where Manda is?"

"She's out with Carisi on a case," Olivia said, "What are you doing here, is everything okay?"

"Oh yes, of course," Elle responded, as quickly as she could. "I just haven't seen my sister in a while and I just wanted to say hi."

"What are you doing with a suitcase?" Olivia asked.

"Oh, they are fumigating the dorms for the weekend, so I need a place to stay, and I figured Amanda would be cool with it," Elle lied.

"Okay, well, I don't know when she'll be home, honey, but why don't I call you a cab and you go bring your stuff to her apartment, and I'll let her know what's going on," Olivia said with a smile, not convinced that Elle was telling the truth.

Olivia gave her Amanda's spare key and Elle was on her way. She didn't like being alone lately and she panicked the entire ride to Amanda's. However, there was a sense of relief in knowing that she wasn't anywhere near her school's campus.

When Elle got to Amanda's, she saw Lucy, the babysitter, there with her niece, Jessie, and Olivia's son, Noah. Elle was so happy to see Jessie and Noah, but all she wanted to do was sleep. She hadn't slept in a few days.

Back at the precinct, Carisi and Amanda finally returned and Olivia pulled Amanda aside to tell her what was going on.

"Hey, you'll never guess who stopped by," Olivia said to Amanda.

"Madonna?" Amanda replied, sarcastically.

"Nope, Elle," Olivia said with a smirk.

"Oh I've been meaning to call that girl!" Amanda said excitedly. "How is she doing? What was she doing here?"

"She was looking for you. She had a suitcase and said that they were fumigating the dorms and she needed to stay with you this weekend, so I sent her to your place." Olivia said, quietly.

"Why do you say it like that?" Amanda said, picking up on Olivia's tone.

"I don't know, Amanda, she just wasn't her usual self," Olivia said, with a sigh. "She just seemed really jumpy and like something was wrong."

"Liv, thank you so much for caring about her. Really." Amanda said, as she put her hand on Olivia's shoulder. "I finished all of my work for the day, do you mind if I head home to make sure everything's okay?"

"Of course, please! I'll be by to pick up Noah this evening."

On that note, Amanda gathered her things and started making her way home.

Amanda was constantly worried about her sister. It was no secret that the Rollins women did not have the best upbringing, but Elle always seemed so strong and put together. Amanda always feared that there was more going on inside her head that she didn't want to share with anyone. She knew that Elle had to grow up at a very young age and she truly wanted what was best for her.

When Amanda walked through her front door, she greeted Lucy, Noah, and Jessie and then walked to the spare bedroom, where she found Elle, sitting on the windowsill, staring out the window.

"Elle!" Amanda said, excited to see her sister.

"Hey Amanda," Elle said, with a quiet voice and a small smile, as she got up to hug her sister.

"It's so good to see you! What a nice surprise!" Amanda said as she rubbed Elle's shoulders. "Olivia told me about your dorms, why didn't you call me?"  
"I don't know, I guess I just wanted to surprise my favorite sister," Elle said with a tired chuckle.

"Nice, I'm pretty much your only, sane, sister, but I'll still take that as a compliment," Amanda said, as she noticed Elle zone out again. "Babe, is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Elle said, zapping back to reality, "I'm just tired from classes this week."

"Well, I'll let you get some rest and I'll start making dinner," Amanda said as she started to leave the room, "Hey," she called back at Elle. "I love you, and I'm so glad to see you."

Elle smiled but as soon as Amanda closed the door behind her, tears welled up in her eyes and began falling. She so desperately wanted to tell Amanda what was going on, but she couldn't. She just couldn't.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

It was now Tuesday of the following week, and Elle was still staying at Amanda's. They had, had minimal conversation and Elle had kept her act up and done her best to try and convince Amanda that nothing was wrong, but Amanda was smarter than that.

Elle put her running shoes on and was about to head out before Amanda stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey Sweetie, where are you going?" Amanda asked her, looking up from the newspaper that she was reading at the kitchen table.

"Oh, I'm just going for a quick run," Elle said as she tried to leave.

"Hold it," Amanda said as she stood up.

"What's up?" Elle said, nervously playing with her keys.

"It's Tuesday, don't you have class?" Amanda said, eyeing her baby sister.

"Um, yes, yes I do," Elle said. She knew Amanda wasn't stupid. She couldn't lie.

"Okay, so why are you here, going for a run, and not in school?" Amanda said, crossing her arms.

"Um," Elle stumbled. She couldn't think fast enough. She couldn't think of an excuse. "I decided I'm not going back to school." At least she was honest.

"Okay, why aren't you going back to school?" Amanda said, rubbing her temples in slight annoyance.

"It's just not for me." Elle said quickly. "Are we done here?"

"Excuse me?" Amanda said, in an irritated voice.

"What?" Elle said, getting a bit of an attitude back. She was just as feisty as her sister. "I'm a grown up. That's my choice. Isn't that good enough?"

"Well, no, it's not good enough," Amanda said sharply. "Considering the fact that I'm busting my ass to pay for college for you, you owe me a little more than, 'it's just not for me'."

"Amanda, listen, I don't want to talk about it, okay? I'm not going. That's it." Elle shouted at her.

"Do NOT raise your voice at me in MY home," Amanda shouted right back.

"Look, Amanda, don't pretend that you care about me, okay? You haven't even called me in a month. I will pay you back for school. Are we finished?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Elle?" Amanda said angrily. "The phone works both ways, sister, I haven't heard from you either!"

"Okay, well then we've established that I don't care about you either!" Elle shouted.

"Elle, where is this coming from? Why are you getting so defensive? I just asked you a freakin' question!"

"Amanda, if you don't want me to stay here, then just say the word and I'll leave!" Elle shouted again.

"Elle, why would I tell you that you can't stay here?" Amanda tried to soften her tone a little bit because she could tell that something was wrong.

"Look, can I just go?" Elle snarled at Amanda.

"Not until you tell me what's really going on here." Amanda was firm.

"I can't tell you that." Elle said quietly, as a tear fell from her eye.

"Honey, if you're in some kind of trouble, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on," Amanda said, softly.

"Why do you just assume that I'm in trouble? Why do you assume that I'M the one who did something wrong?" Elle was back to shouting.

"Honey, please just take a breath and tell me what's going on. I didn't assume-"

"You think that just because Mom and Kim did horrible things that I'm horrible too?" Elle was spinning out.

"I never said-"

"Screw you, Amanda, screw you!" Elle screamed as she ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Jessie started crying with all of the commotion and Amanda, stunned by her sister's actions and words, went to comfort her daughter.

"Shh...it's okay, sweet girl, it's okay," Amanda said, as she picked up Jessie.

Amanda knew something was very wrong and for some reason, her sister didn't want to tell her the truth. She had to call in the big guns. She had to call Olivia.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3:

Oliva came over as soon as Amanda called her. They sat down and Amanda explained everything that just happened.

"Wow, in all the years I have known that girl, I've never known her to be so hostile or ugly towards you." Olivia said, lovingly.

"Liv, it was like it was a completely different person," Amanda said softly, as she poured herself another glass of Merlot.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know. She said she was going out for a run, but that was hours ago. I have absolutely no clue what to do, Liv, I've never had any problems with her before. She's a good kid." Amanda started tearing up.

"Hey, it's okay," Olivia said, as she comforted her friend. "We'll figure this out."

"She's not talking to me. I don't know why. I've always told her that she can talk to me about anything. I thought she trusted me."

"I don't think it's that she doesn't trust you," Olivia started. "I think it's that it's because she's a lot like you, Amanda, which means that she has a hard time asking for help."

"Yeah, that could be it," Amanda said as she sadly shook her head. "But I just don't know what to do."

"Well, how can I help?" Olivia asked.

"Do you think maybe you could try to talk to her? She trusts you and maybe it might be easier than talking to me."

"Of course. Sometimes it's easier to trust a confidant." Olivia got quiet. "I think we both know what's going on."

Amanda was silent before she drew a deep breath in and continued, "I know. But I can't help her until she confirms it."

"Well, where do you think she could be? Does she like to go anywhere when she wants to just...escape?"

"She loves the giant Barnes and Noble in Union Square. That's one of her favorite places."

"I'm on it." Olivia said, as she smiled at Amanda and stood up.

Olivia headed to the bookstore and searched every isle before finding Elle in the young adult section.

"Olivia, what are you doing here?" Elle said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Looking for you," Olivia said softly, as she sat down on the floor next to Elle. "I just left Amanda's."

"Does she hate me?" Elle said, quietly.

"No, of course not, but she is worried about you," Olivia said as she placed her hand on Elle's hand. "We all are, sweetheart."

"I can't tell Amanda what happened." Elle said softly.

"Why not, love?" Olivia asked her.

"Because, Amanda taught me to make smart choices and not put myself in danger and I let her down. And I let you down."

"Honey, you couldn't ever let me down," Olivia said, as she brushed Elle's bangs behind her ear.

"Olivia, if I tell you what happened, then you'll have to report it and I don't know if I want to do that." Elle said, as she shed more tears.

"Lieutenant Benson would have to, legally, report it." Olivia took a deep breath. "But, right now, I'm not talking to you as her. I'm talking to you as your Aunt Olivia, which is much more important. And your Aunt Olivia doesn't have to do anything unless you want to."

Elle took in a deep breath.

"I was doing really well in school. I was getting A's in every class. But I had no friends. Everybody in college has friends, so why didn't I?" Elle started. "So, I decided to finally go to my first frat party. I was feeling really anxious about it, but then this cute boy told me I was really pretty and offered me a drink. You and Amanda taught me to never let somebody else make my drink at a party, but I did anyways." Elle took in another deep breath. "I was fine at first, but then I felt dizzy and like I couldn't feel my legs or my arms." Elle started crying even more.

"It's okay, sweetie, you're doing great." Olivia said as she rubbed her shoulder.

"The cute boy told me that we were in the same political science class and asked me if I could come to his room to take a look at his midterm paper. I said yes and when I went in there, three other guys came in. Then, they locked the doors and pushed me on the bed. And then, it happened." Elle started hyperventilating.

"Honey, come here," Olivia took Elle and held her in her arms as she cried.

"Olivia, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been there. I should have known better." Elle sobbed.

"This is NOT your fault, do you hear what I'm saying?" Olivia said, looking Elle straight in the eyes.

"Amanda is going to be so ashamed of me. I'm a drunk, party slut." Elle cried.

"Sweetie, she's not going to be mad at you or ashamed at you. She is worried about you and wants to help you. She's making herself sick about you right now." Olivia said softly. "I think we need to go tell her what happened. We need to tell her the truth."

"Olivia, I'm so scared," Elle said quietly, her voice quivering.

"I will be right there with you, holding your hand." Olivia said as she stood up and grabbed Elle's hand. "Come on, let's go talk to your sister."

Elle stood up and let Olivia guide her home to Amanda's.

They opened the door and Amanda was pacing around the living room.

"Elle, thank god you're okay," Amanda said, as she ran and pulled Elle into a hug.

"Amanda, I need to tell you something," Elle said, as she squeezed Olivia's hand.


	4. Chapter 4

"Elle, oh my god," Amanda said with tears in her eyes, after Elle told her what had happened.

"Amanda, I know you're so disappointed in me and so upset and I'm so terribly sorry. I really didn't-" Elle hysterically cried, as Oliva rubbed her shoulders in support.

"Hey, hey," Amanda said as she rushed towards Elle and grabbed her by the hands. "What do YOU have to be sorry about?"

"Amanda, I should have known better than to go to a party and take a drink from someone I didn't know. I shouldn't have gone into his room, but he called me pretty, and Mom said that whenever a man calls you pretty, you have to go with him because you can never miss an opportunity to-" Elle couldn't breathe and started hyperventilating.

"Elle, baby," Amanda said as she pulled her sister into her arms. "Come on, deep breaths. In through the nose, and out through the mouth." Amanda breathed slowly with her sister.

"Amanda, I'm so so sorry," Elle was crying.

"Sweetie, I need you to stop apologizing to me." Amanda looked her sister right in the eyes, still trying to calm her down. "The only people who need to apologize are the boys who did this to you."

"Yes, honey, you don't need to blame yourself at all," Olivia said as she grabbed one of Elle's hands.

"I just don't know what to do, guys, I don't know," Elle sobbed to her sister and to Olivia. "I tried to go to class the next day and act like nothing happened but I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I felt like they were everywhere or like they were following me. I didn't know what to do so I left and I came here."

"And you did the right thing by coming here, baby, you need to know that," Amanda said, softly.

"Amanda, I'm sorry I didn't tell you right when it happened. I just know you're busy and you're a mom now and I just didn't want to bother you. I thought I could handle it." Elle cried, but started to catch her breath a little bit.

"Honey, yes, Jessie is my baby, but you were my first baby. I never want you to think that you can't come to me for help. I am NEVER too busy for you, you need to understand this." Amanda said lovingly.

"I just don't know what to do. I want all of this to stop." Elle said softly.

"How about you go jump in the shower and get in your pajamas," Amanda started, as her voice started to quiver and more tears fell from her eyes, "and then you and I will get in bed and I will hold you like I did when you were a little girl and you can cry all you want and then tomorrow, we can figure out what you want to do."

"Okay," Elle said as she wiped her eyes and walked to the bathroom.

Olivia turned to Amanda.

"Amanda, are you okay?" Olivia said, softly.

"No. I'm not," Amanda wiped the tears from her eyes. "My sister was gang raped and she didn't feel like she could tell me. She told you."

"At least she told somebody, and she did tell you." Olivia said as she put her hand on Amanda's shoulder for support.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. This isn't about me. It's about her right now." Amanda said with a sigh.

"What can I do to help?" Olivia said.

"Is there any way you can take Jessie for the night and watch her? I need to give Elle 100% of my attention and love right now. I need to be there for her."

"Of course, absolutely," Olivia said.

With that thought, Amanda and Olivia went to pack an overnight bag for Jessie and Olivia and Jessie headed out to go meet Noah and Lucy back at Olivia's home.

Soon, Elle got out of the shower and crawled into Amanda's bed.

"Amanda?" Elle said quietly.

"Yes, baby," Amanda softly responded.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight? Please?"

"Of course," Amanda said as she pulled Elle into her arms. Elle started to cry.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" Amanda said, giving her sister a kiss on the forehead.

"I just don't even know what to say. Everything just hurts." Elle said quieter than before.

Elle and Amanda sat in silence for a few moments before Elle opened her mouth.

"Amanda, can I ask you something?" Elle said softly.

"Of course, baby," Amanda said, as Elle sat up and looked at her sister.

"Does this mean I'm not a virgin anymore?"

"You've never had sex before?" Amanda asked her.

"No. This was...my first time." Elle said, as she hung her head.

"Honey, this was not your first time. This was not sex. It was assault." Amanda said sharply.

"What do you mean?" Elle asked her.

"You lose your virginity when YOU decide to give that part of you away to somebody. Nobody else gets to ever make that choice for someone else. You are the only person who can make that choice." Amanda said, firmly.

"Oh," Elle said quietly.

"Can I tell you something else?" Amanda asked her. Elle nodded her head as Amanda took another deep breath in and started to speak again. "What mom told you about never saying no to a boy who calls you pretty? That's bullshit. You do not EVER have to go anywhere with anyone just because they call you pretty. You are worth more than that. You don't owe anybody anything because they call you pretty. It's really important that you know this."

"Amanda, I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner," Elle said as she looked at her sister.

Amanda didn't respond. Instead, she pulled her sister close to her again and let her cry. All night. Until she fell asleep. But Amanda didn't sleep. She stayed up all night, keeping a watchful eye on her baby sister. She knew that her sister was hurting, but she didn't even know the hurt that was to come. This was only the beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5:

Around 4 in the morning, Elle started to have a nightmare. She started kicking and whimpering in her sleep. Amanda, still awake, was able to catch it before it got worse.

"Shh, honey, it's okay, you're safe," Amanda said quietly as she rubbed her sister's back.

"Where am I? What's happening?!" Elle hastily said as she awoke from her night terror.

"You're safe, you're with me it was just a bad dream." Amanda said softly.

"Amanda it was happening again. It was happening again!" Elle cried as she tried to catch her breath.

"I know baby, I know," Amanda said, as she held her sister in her arms again.

Amanda rocked her sister to sleep and Elle was able to sleep for a few more hours until she woke up, but when she woke up, she didn't see Amanda in bed next to her.

"Amanda? AMANDA!?" Elle shouted.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Amanda said, rushing back into the bedroom.

"You were gone, where were you," Elle said frantically.

"I just went to make some coffee, I'm here it's okay," Amanda said as she hugged her sister.

"I'm sorry," her sister said as she hung her head in embarrassment.

"It's okay, I get it," Amanda said with a small smirk of understanding.

Amanda grabbed her coffee and then sat next to Elle in her bed again. They sat in silence for a few moments before Amanda spoke up.

"Sweetie, I know this is going to be hard, but we need to talk about what you want to do," Amanda said, as she let out a sigh. Elle said nothing, so Amanda continued by saying, "I support any choice you make, but if we are going to open a case, we are already a week down, so we need to move quickly."

Elle said nothing.

"Sweetie, can you talk to me? Can you tell me what's going through your head?" Amanda said, softly.

"I don't know," Elle said quietly.

"You don't know what, babe?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know what to do, Amanda. I don't know what the right choice is here. I need you to tell me what to do." Elle said, even quieter than before.

"I can't make that choice for you, Elle," Amanda said calmly, but firmly. "I am here to answer any questions you have about the different options, but ultimately, you have to make this choice for yourself."

"What good will it do to open an investigation? It's not like it can erase what happened to me." Elle said, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"No, it can't," Amanda said solemnly. "But, it can help you find possible justice and closure. It can help you realize that this really isn't your fault, because I know you and I know that you still feel guilty about this, even though you absolutely shouldn't."

"Amanda, what if I am not strong enough to go through with this. What if I can't do it?" Elle said, with tears in her eyes.

"I have known you your entire life, Elle." Amanda said with a soft smile. "There isn't anything that you can't do. You are so strong and smart and you can get through this. And I will be right here with you, the whole time. Olivia too. You don't have to go through this alone."

"Then let's do it." Elle said firmly.

"That's my girl," Amanda said as she hugged her.

"Amanda?" Elle said softly as she looked up at her big sister.

"Yes, baby," Amanda answered.

"I wish you had been my mom." Elle said as she hugged her sister again.

"Me too, baby, me too." Amanda said as she kissed Elle on the forehead.

"So, what happens now?" Elle asked her.

"Well, I think we need to get dressed and ready and then head down to the station and talk to Olivia. We will tell her that we want to open up an investigation and then she will ask you questions and go from there."

"Amanda, before we go, can I tell you something?" Elle said quietly.

"Of course. Anything," Amanda said, looking at her sister.

"Before I had my nightmare last night, I had a dream that I was dead. It was the best feeling in the entire world." Elle said, very quietly.

"Honey, that's a very serious thing to say." Amanda said sternly. "Are you thinking about hurting yourself?"

"No." Elle said as she quickly looked away. "I just wanted to tell you that."

"I appreciate you being honest with me, and I want you to keep being honest with me. Any thought that starts to creep into your head, I want you to talk to me about it. I don't want you to keep it inside, okay? It's really important that you understand this."

Elle nodded her head and stood up and went to go get dressed, while Amanda sat and reflected upon what Elle had just told her. She was worried about her sister and she knew that she needed to keep an eye on her for a while now.

The two sisters managed to get ready and start to head to the station for what would be a very trying day for both of them.

When Amanda and Elle Rollins arrived at the precinct, Elle halted right before entering the building.

"What's going on, babe?" Amanda asked her sister.

"Amanda I can't go in. I can't do it. If I walk in there, then all of this becomes real." Elle said softly.

"Sweetheart, this is real. This is really happening. We need to do something about this." Ananda said as she grabbed her sister's hand and let her in the building.

They walked in and were greeted by Olivia.

"Come on in, girls," Olivia said, as she opened the door to the room where statements are collected.

"How are you doing, Elle?" Olivia said as she put her hand on Elle's.

"I'm not good," Elle said as a tear fell from her eye. Amanda squeezed her hand.

" I know, honey, but we are going to find the boys who did this to you. We will get justice for what happened to you." Olivia said firmly. "Can you tell me again what you remember happening?"

Elle retold the story of her gang rape. She gripped Amanda's hand tightly the entire time.

"Okay, Elle, thank you. That was really brave of you," Olivia said with an empathetic smile. "Do you have any idea who these boys could be? I know you said one of the boys claimed to be in one of your classes, do you have any friends in that class that were at the party?"

" I don't have very many friends at school," Elle said quietly. "I have one friend, his name is Clark. We met at orientation and we signed up for a lot of the same classes."

"Okay, do you think you could give me his last name so I can maybe speak with him?" Olivia asked her.

"Jacobs. Clark Jacobs. But he wouldn't do this," Elle said sharply.

"I'm not accusing him, honey, I just want to talk to him and see if he remembers seeing anybody or anything. Okay?"

"Okay," Elle said quietly.

"Well, you ladies are free to go. We will start the investigation and of course we'll keep you updated. It's going to be okay." Olivia said as she looked at both of them with love.

"Elle, honey, can you wait here while I speak to Olivia outside for a minute?" Amanda asked her sister. Elle nodded.

Amanda and Olivia stepped outside and closed the door.

"How's she doing?" Olivia asked Amanda.

"It's bad, Liv," Amanda said while exhaling a large sigh. "I don't know how to help her and she said she had a dream that she died and it was the best feeling in the world. I don't know what to do. I feel like everything is just a big panic right now. It's hard when someone you love is going through this."

"I know, Amanda, I know," Olivia said, as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We need to get her out of that school right now. You need to go withdraw her temporarily and get the rest of her things out of her dorm. Sometimes severing ties can help the healing begin. She needs to stay with you for a while."

"Absolutely," Amanda said in agreement.

"So why don't you take the day to go take care of business at the school and we will work on the investigation," Olivia said.

"Sounds like a plan. Thank you," Amanda said with a smile as she went back in to grab her sister.

As Amanda and Elle got in the cab, Elle was silent.

"You did a great job in there, babe, I know it wasn't easy," Amanda said.

"Are we going home?" Elle said, completely disregarding Amanda's comment.

"Not exactly," Amanda said sharply. "We have to go to your school and take care of business. We have to get the rest of your things from your dorm and get temporary un-enrollment so it doesn't hurt your gpa."

"What? Amanda I can't go back there!" Elle said as she started to hyperventilate.

"Yes you can, sweetie, we have to," Amanda said as she tried to calm her sister down. "I will be right there with you the whole time. You don't even have to say a word."

Elle turned her head and looked out the window as tears fell from her eyes. She couldn't believe her sister was making her do this.

When they arrived at the campus, Amanda knew exactly where to go to speak to someone about a leave of absence. They had investigated enough cases on this campus that Amanda knew her way around quite well.

When they arrived at the advising and admissions building, Amanda grabbed Elle's hand and walked to the front desk.

"Hi, I need to speak to someone immediately about deferring," Amanda said to the woman at the front desk. The woman said she would grab someone to speak to them immediately and shortly after, they were called back.

"How can I help you ladies today?" The advisor asked, as they had a seat in her office.

"My sister is a student here and we need to defer her education due to an emergency." Amanda said to the advisor.

"It's almost the end of the semester and at this point, withdrawing is impossible without grade point penalty. She will have to finish the semester." The advisor firmly said.

"Well, she can't do that," Amanda said angrily, "there was a situation that happened on your campus that has put my sister in a very bad place."

"Well, you need to be more specific than that," the advisor said angrily.

Amanda turned to Elle, "Honey, why don't you step out for a moment," Elle listened and left the room. This entire day felt like an outer-body experience.

"My sister was raped at a party on campus. I work for the NYPD and an investigation has started today. She cannot be on this campus right now or possibly ever again. Can you not make an exception for that?" Amanda snapped at her.

"I'm very sorry that happened to your sister, but why isn't she telling me this," the advisor said sharply.

"Because she is completely traumatized. She can't even speak!" Amanda said, trying to keep her cool.

The woman looked at Amanda and could see the hurt in her eyes. She closed her eyes and let a sigh of exhale happen.

"If I make an exception to the rule, there can't be any fault that backlashes onto this fine school." The woman said, quietly.

"Is that a threat?" Amanda said, as her eyes narrowed in at the woman.

"No, it's a statement." The woman said, even quieter.

"Listen, sister, you don't want to mess with me," Amanda said, sternly. "I can't tell you exactly what the investigation will reveal. However, I can tell you that what you are doing is a form of blackmail, and blackmail to an officer of the law, is highly frowned upon in a court of law." Amanda turned her narrowed eyes into a sweet smile. "Now, how does the deferment process begin?"

The woman reluctantly agreed and helped Amanda to defer her sister's education.

When Amanda was done, she walked out to get Elle, only to her surprise, Elle was nowhere to be found.


End file.
